IPL media rights auction: What to expect

The next Indian Premier League media rights auction is scheduled for February. Media consultants reckon the combined rights could go for up to Rs. 50,000 crore. The current TV rights price is higher than the previous one paid by Star. The last season saw the success of two new franchises, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants. There was a 33 per cent decline in the viewership of the league.

Amol Karhadkar and Meenakshi Verma Ambwani talk about the IPL Media Rights Auction.

There are 74 IPL matches for media rights this year. Media analyst justifies the increase in media right prices. IPl is the differentiating factor for franchise owners. For Hotstar, India contributes as much as 30 per cent of its global revenues. For Amazon and Netflix, it yields only 5 to 10 per Cent of their revenues, but for start-ups, the figures are much lower. The new Lucknow and Gujarat teams bought media Rights for Rs. 7090 and Rs 5625 crore respectively. It took Punjab Kings seven years to break even. There are comparisons with the Super Bowl.

Star, Zee-Sony and Viacom Sports 18 are the most likely bidders for cricket rights. If Star wins it, it will have a far reaching impact across their network of channels. BCCI has thrown many curve balls in its bid documents this year. This could open a window for pure digital players like Amazon and Apple.